Women Allegedly Break Up After Onstage Fight (In Which Punches Were Thrown in Halloween Costumes)

“Oh, hey, it’s me. Was just calling to see whether you knew if the band broke up.”

Wavves’ infamous onstage meltdown, I mean, that sort of made sense. But latest band beef/onstage drama comes from unlikely candidates with Canadian (Canadian!) art-pop outfit Women reportedly losing it at their show in British Columbia on Friday. Exclaim has an eyewitness account of the night, and it gets pretty screwy between band members blaming each other for messing up songs, a lead singer refusing to leave the stage, smashed instruments, and Halloween costumes (a sailor, Mr. T). One audience member reports, “[Singer/guitarist] Pat [Flegel] started throwing punches at his brother [bassist/vocalist/supposed Marnie Stern boyfriend Matthew Flegel] during their set up and soundcheck. Full on ‘break it up’ brawl between the brothers,” apparently spurring guitarist/vocalist Chris Reimer to announce that this was their “last show as a band.”

Frick. I’d go to bat for these guys on the merit of two sorely underrated albums, a recent New York show that blew me away, and the dedication of playing over 200 gigs in support of their first album alone. Despite quick action over at the band’s Wikipedia page, nothing has been confirmed as far as a break up. At the very least, all 24 dates on their European tour have been canceled, however. An official statement from band manager Ian Russell after the jump

With a heavy heart, we regret to say that the band Women is exhausted and are in need of a break from touring. They have experienced a lot of stress recently, and this culminated in a disastrous public conflict on Friday. Band members have been suffering from poor health, and are in near-exhaustion; as of today, all upcoming shows have been cancelled.

We feel that it’s necessary to emphasize that this is a very difficult time for the band, and is not a trivial decision for a group that has spent as much time touring as they have. The band is a close-knit group of friends that have known each other since elementary school, and the personal health of these individuals forces this decision.

The band would appreciate some privacy as they sort things out and recover.